Kim Young-nam, a South Korean believed to have been abducted by North Korean agents in 1978, reacts as his South Korean family leave the North's Mt.Kumgang on Friday. Five Kidnapped S.Koreans Confirmed Alive in North A Sorry Tale of Silence and Neglect It Takes Japan to Find Our Missing in N.Korea Kim Young-nam's Abductor Now Free in S.Korea Megumi Yokota's Father Arrives in Korea Parents of Abduction Victims in Emotional First Meeting Abduction Victim Reunited With Mother After 28 Years A Child of North Korea’s Abductions Kim Young-nam Denies Abduction by N.Korea A Melancholy Performance Megumi Yokota Remains ‘May Have Been Mixed Up’ Families Demand Return of Kidnap Victims from N.Korea Abducted S. Korean 'Wavers on Brink of Freedom' Tokyo ‘Hiding Knowledge of Megumi Yokota’s Death’ Kim Young-nam ‘Never Asked’ if Wife Was Kidnapped

But the official indicated the government will not trumpet its belief from the rooftops. "Instead of taking that issue and saying now whether it is true of false, it’s better to calmly push ahead with a future-oriented strategy to resolve the issue,” he said.

He highlighted the fact that Kim at the press conference did not say he went to North Korea voluntarily. He said this was a turn-up for the books compared to the kind of statements issued by the North in the past. “But pointing out mistakes and bickering over what is right and wrong is not helpful, and in the end the injury rebounds on the abduction victim and the victim's family," the official said. "We will continue to quietly work towards repatriation, which is our ultimate goal, through meetings and by confirming the fates of those abducted by the North."

Asked there would be more cooperation with the Japanese government to determine the fate of Kim Young-nam's former wife Megumi Yokota, who was also kidnapped, the official said the government “will share, but there is no specific policy for consultations."

The presumed South Korean abduction victim Kim Young-nam’s daughter Hye-gyong(Eun-gyong) and son Chul-bong say goodbye to their South Korean grandmother Choi Gye-wol on Friday.

In Japan, there was anger over Kim’s remark at the press conference that Tokyo’s doubts about the authenticity of Yokota’s repatriated remains were "clumsy and childish.” Japan says DNA tests of the remains, which were repatriated after what Kim said was her suicide, show them to be those of two other people.

"If North Korea was really such a great country, shouldn't he have been able to send a letter to his mother, or give her a call?" Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Suzuki quipped. "His story is absolutely unbelievable." Yokota’s mother Sakie Yokota said, "I was so upset I thought I would faint," while other families of kidnapping victims were baffled that Kim’s family took part in Thursday’s performance, with Kim's sister merely saying, “My younger brother looks handsome.”

The main Japanese papers surmised that that the press conference had come off according to North Korea's script and was simply a repetition of the country's previous claims.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said in a regularly scheduled briefing, "The government of Japan considers all the victims to be alive and is perusing their safe return" adding, "If North Korea doesn't start showing a more sincere attitude we will have no choice but to exam putting even greater pressure on the country."

(englishnews@chosun.com )